Saudi citizen and U.K. permanent resident Shaker Aamer, who has been held for more than 13 years in the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, once romanced a female guard who became so infatuated with the terror suspect that she had to be relieved of her duties.
The revelation was made in a radio interview Sunday with Col. Michael Bumgarner, who served as the commander of the Joint Detention Group, the guard force at Gitmo, from April 2005 through June 2006.
Aamer, a married father of four British children, was “one of the most charismatic, intelligent human beings I have ever met,” said Bumgarner.
“Very cunning. Very manipulative. And it’s always to his good,” he said.
The ex-Gitmo warden was speaking on “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio” on New York’s AM 970 The Answer and Philadelphia’s NewsTalk 990 AM.
Aamer has never been charged, but leaked documents show the U.S military Joint Task Force Guantanamo believed he led a unit of fighters in Afghanistan that fought in the Battle of Tora Bora while his family was financially compensated by Osama bin Laden. Aamer’s lawyer insists he is “totally innocent.”
Last week, the Guardian newspaper of London reported American and British diplomats reached an agreement in late 2013 for Aamer to be released to the U.K., citing “multiple sources with knowledge of the understanding.”
However, the sources said the Pentagon is blocking the return, which has the backing of the U.S. Justice Department, the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
The Washington Post reported last week, however, that Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter was leaning toward supporting Aamer’s release.
Much has been written about Bumgarner’s dealings with Aamer, including an extensive 2006 New York Times Magazine profile. The article detailed how Aamer served as an intermediary of sorts between the warden and some detainees during escalating hunger strikes in mid-June 2005.
Aamer, known inside Gitmo as “the professor,” also worked with Bumgarner to reform the detainees’ diets, proposing four different diets: a standard menu, a vegetarian menu, a vegetarian-with-fish option and a bland diet for older prisoners and those with intestinal problems.
Aamer’s proposal eventually became the foundation for a new meal plan that raised the daily food intake of each prisoner from 2,800 calories to 4,200.
Speaking to Klein, Bumgarner divulged the married Aamer once romanced a female from the guard force who, as a result of Aamer’s charms, “became quite infatuated with him to the point where both myself and my Two Star believed that she no longer could exercise good judgment within the facility.”
“I cannot say to you that there was any type of sexual touching,” Bumgarner told Klein. “I was never able to confirm that, but clearly there was a relationship that crossed well beyond that of prisoner, detainee and jail provider.”
Bumgarner did not identify the female other than to say she “was in a rather significant leadership position within my organization.”
He said the romance caused the guard to be “relieved of her position, and she moved on.”
What did Aamer want from the female guard?
“As a detainee, you want any comfort,” the former warden replied. “Like he always liked to have extra socks. Like footie socks.”
“He is meticulous about his diet. Any special favor he could get on his diet.”
Continued Bumgarner: “I can’t say I blame him. When you are a detainee, you want as many comforts as you can get. So he would manipulate guards or anybody up the chain of command. ‘I would do this.’ Quid pro quo. ‘I will take care of that issue with the brothers if you will get me this.’”
Aamer “always manipulated everyone,” added Bumgarner.
“I must say even I myself was manipulated. Shaker, how to put this without sounding too strange. He is a handsome fellow who has exceptionally good English, lived in the United States extensively. Actually, he had better knowledge of the United States and U.S. history than I did.”
